Thinking Out Loud #9 - Elementary School Memories

Thank you to Amanda @ Running With Spoons for this Thinking Out Loud link up! Honestly, I was debating on whether to link up this week because I am not feeling particularly random at all. However, I think I can deliver! 

I teach at an elementary school, but sometimes I forget what it is like to be a kid. So I decided to share some random elementary school memories with you. I have a lot of memories from grades K-5, but I just wrote about whatever popped into my head. 

Enjoy!!

Kindergarten (1987)- I remember so many RANDOM things from kindergarten. I remember playing in the pretend kitchen with the girls while the boys played Ghostbusters. I also remember when we all had to get a TB shot from the nurse- in front of EVERYONE. She came to our classroom with her cart of shots and called us up one by one. A girl named Amber hid behind a desk in hopes no one would see her and she wouldn't get a shot. (It didn't work.) When I got my shot, I said, "Ouch!" and that was it. I was nervous that it would hurt really bad and I would cry, but I kept my shit together.

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First Grade (1988)- We actually had computers in first grade and we got to take turns staying in from recess to play educational games. We LOVED playing Word Munchers. One time, a boy named Bill took the floppy disk out of the computer in the middle of my game so it would end. I was so mad!

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Second Grade (1989)- We watched a lot of movies in second grade. There were only 3 second grade classes, so the teachers would herd us all into one classroom to watch whatever movie we were watching that week. One movie was The Little Mermaid. It must have just come out and I hated it and did not want to watch it. I ended up loving it, of course. We also watched a couple episodes of Rescue 911. I am pretty sure that is why I love Forensic Files and Dateline now!

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Third Grade (1990)- We had a THIEF in our third grade classroom! Someone stole my silly putty. Someone stole my friend Ashley's unicorn bookmark. Someone stole our class's multiplication rap cassette tape. Apparently, the thief liked to hide certain things as well, because our teacher ended up finding the cassette tape. Mrs. Miller said to us, "I will not tell you where I found it... but it was in a very, very good spot." Twenty-four years later, I am still dying to know where that cassette tape was hidden!

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Fourth Grade (1991)- I did something really mean in 4th grade. When I was correcting a girl's math notebook in my class (you know how teachers had you switch papers and grade each other's?), I marked all her wrong answers with a big red marker. And she got A LOT wrong. Then I wrote a huge F on top. I don't know why I did this! That was so mean of me! She cried when I gave it to her. I didn't care that she was crying, but I did care that she could possibly tell the teacher and I would get in trouble. I know that sounds terrible, but it's the truth. She didn't tell the teacher so I got away with it. But dang, that was a close one. I of course look back now and wonder why I was so mean to her that day, because I was not a mean little kid!

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Fifth Grade (1992)- I hated my fifth grade teacher. One of the reasons was because she banned me from using the glue. See, I used too much glue for one of my projects (not on purpose, I just wasn't good at projects), and she got really annoyed and banned me from the glue for the rest of the year.  She also had a Time Out chair. Yes, in FIFTH GRADE we had a Time Out chair. If I did that to my 2nd graders they would laugh at me...

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Alright my readers, go ahead and share some elementary school memories with me! Think out loud!

Thinking Out Loud #1

Thinking Out Loud #2 - The Gym!

Thinking Out Loud #3 - Teaching!
Thinking Out Loud #4 - Learning to walk again- LITERALLY.
Thinking Out Loud #5 - Some true randomness
Thinking Out Loud # 6 - R-A-N-D-O-M-N-E-S-S-!
Thinking Out Loud # 7
Thinking Out Loud # 8

What's flying through my head this morning...

Happy Hump Day!

Sorry to confuse everyone yesterday. TODAY is Wednesday! It's another weird week, though. Professional development day on Monday, then a 2 hour delay on Tuesday and today. You know why? More snow and ice. I am dreaming of running and summer...

I am currently laying on the couch with the Today Show on. They are doing Olympic coverage, but I am not watching the Olympics so I don't really care about it. 

It's really strange for me to write something the same morning I post it, but I am feeling blabby today. (Not flabby. I actually controlled myself in the dessert department last night and woke up with my stomach growling!)

The cats are sleeping. Ironic, since they woke me up at 3:30am, 5:30am and then 6:30am. So much for sleeping in for my 2 hour delay! I may actually do something crazy like clean the house... (Haha no I won't, I will sit here on my lap top for 2 hours I bet!)

I'm debating on whether to go to the gym and arc train for a half hour or take today as a rest. I haven't done anything lower body in several days. The reason is my knee. Guess what? It hurts again. Of course there is the normal "just had surgery" type of hurt... I can't bend it the whole way and I can't go down steps right food first. But I also feel the same type of aching I had before my surgery. You heard it, folks! My knee is now aching when I am walking around my classroom, sitting down, teaching piano lessons, etc... the exact same way it hurt before I went through all this. 

What does this mean? I have no freaking clue. Maybe it is just sore because I can't properly stretch it or put it through the whole range of motion. Or maybe I was misdiagnosed. Whatever. I am honestly at the point where I have just accepted that maybe my knee is going to ache for the rest of my life. I know that sounds like I'm giving up but I don't know what the hell else to think? How many doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, gait analyzers, and knee surgeries must one go through (AND $$$$ BY THE WAY) to diagnose something that shouldn't be that difficult.

Okay, now I kind of wish I just posted my Hawai'i blog this morning like I was going to. Then I would be happy thinking about vacation.

Let's wrap this up with some WONDERFUL things that are going on in my life, rather than the cruddy!

1. Paul is feeling a lot better!

2. I'm going out to eat with Paul and my parents on Friday night!

3. We finally got some ant traps, as the ants have been taking over our pantry!

4. Paul and I started DVR'ing Seinfeld and spend our evenings laughing our heads off watching old episodes.

5. 40 days until April 1st, which I know is not the official start of spring, but here in PA, it can snow all the way through March! So I feel like spring will start peeking through in 40 days!

6. The kids at school have been cracking me up. Yesterday, during 3rd grade music class, I turned on Elton John's Don't Go Breakin' My Heart" and this one little boy, who is so quiet, started wiggling in his seat and lip syncing to it. I was not expecting it and burst out laughing. Ah, kids.

What thoughts are flying through your head this morning?

Teachers, tell me something funny a kid did recently.

Tell me something WONDERFUL going on with you right now!

WIWIAW (What I Wish I Ate Wednesday)

I recently let the cat out of the bag that I am not a fan of the WIAW posts. Maybe I am just mad that if I ever did a WIAW it would have to come in 2 installments because I eat so damn much! I could be jealous that other bloggers are so good at making their food look yummy while my food photography is extremely sub par. Anywayyyyyyy....

I thought I'd do something fun. I'll show you what I wish I ate on Wednesday. There will be no overnight oats, almonds, smoothies, or Quest bars in this post.

PS. I know it's not Wednesday, but if I post this tomorrow, you will be sooooo sick of looking at food pictures!

Breakfast: pancakes, real butter, real syrup, real bacon, a big glass of orange juice and a big glass of 2% milk.

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Lunch: tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons, a side of guacamole and corn chips, Diet Coke

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Obviously, I would want a much bigger portion than what is pictured above!

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Two diet cokes? Don't mind if I do!

Snack: Auntie Anne's pretzel with a large lemonade

Auntie Anne's

Whenever I go to the mall and walk by Auntie Anne's, I always think, "Dang, I wish I could just eat crap and then go try on jeans like a normal person."

Dinner: Chinese buffet... including, but not limited to: General Tso's chicken, lo mein, pork fried rice, and egg rolls

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Dessert 1: Sticky Bun Sundae

Spots Of Time

I've always wanted to order this at TJ Rockwell's but I never have room after dinner! 

Sometime, Paul and I have to make sure we go there and order DESSERT first!

Dessert 2: Forbidden Broadway Sundae

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Chocolate cake, fudge, and ice cream. Oh. My. God.

Mmmmmmm... What a decadent day this would be!!!

Tell me, what do YOU wish you ate Wednesday?

Weekend Wrap Up!

Remember how I promised you a proper weekend wrap up this week? Well, you're about to get it! Caution: This post is pretty long. In fact, if you decide to just scroll through and look at the pictures, I wouldn't blame you!

Happy Monday!

Friday started with a 2 hour delay. Delays always are a little weird... my eating is off, my timing is off... it's just strange. The students celebrated Valentine's Day in their own classrooms, but I did get some treats dropped off in my room! Look at this cute sweet tart box a student decorated for me...

And look at this cute poster a student got me! They sort of know I love cats. I hung it up behind my desk right away!

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After work, Paul gave me my Valentine's present. (I left him his card before I went to work in the morning.) It was a Powerpoint presentation with pictures of us and the cats. It also had really sweet things written about us and our life together. I bet I was the only gal who got a POWERPOINT for Valentine's Day! 

Our big Friday night plans were grocery shopping (What else!?) and Kohl's. I had a 30% coupon, and even though we didn't need anything, we just had to go and look around. We left with nothing, but we almost left with a Keurig.

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And now, Paul and I are in the midst of "The Great Keurig Debate of 2014." Long story short, I want one and he doesn't. I researched the pros and cons of the machines and to me, the pros far outweigh the cons. With my coupon, I could get one for about $80. Paul is against it, but gave me full "permission" to get one if I want one. I can tell he thinks it's a waste of money so I am going to think about it some more. If any of you have strong opinions about Keurigs (good or bad) please feel free to share!

When we got home, we had our nightly scotch & Deal date.

Then we made homemade "healthy" General Tso's chicken! Chicken breast, broccoli, sweet peppers, quinoa, and Wegman's General Tso's sauce! This is going to be my dinner from now on until we run out of ingredients.

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Later on, we watched Boogie Nights. The movie is about the porn industry in the 70s and I would say the movie itself is borderline porn! I definitely wasn't expecting that. Oh, and let me tell you how shocked I was when during the last couple seconds of the movie, Marky Mark whipped out his huge dinger. I immediately researched and found out it was actually a prosthetic penis. I figured as much. They showed Julianne Moore's real breasts and Heather Graham's real vagina, but a PENIS? Nope. Can't show a real one. It's so sexist.

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When we were grocery shopping, we got some amazing ice cream, which I ate too much of for dessert. I went to bed feeling fat and depressed. Not good. I am not doing as much cardio as normal but I have not decreased the amount of ice cream I eat. For shame.

The bane of my existence...

Saturday morning was a typical: coffee, Jelly (the cat), DVR (Judge Judy, Will and Grace, Dateline), and blogging. Oh, and it was snowing. Surprise, surprise.

The view from our window.

I counted shoveling my sidewalk and driveway as a warm up for my workout that afternoon. Then I headed to Planet Fitness. Look what is new there...

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Stair climbers. I'm sure you've seen these before.

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It's called the Crossfit 360. It has kettle bells, medicine balls, resistance bands, monkey bars, ropes, TRX suspension thingies (Don't know the proper term!), a trampoline, cables, and adjustable platforms to jump onto!

My workout did not include any of the new equipment except the medicine balls. This is what a girl with a bum knee does at the gym...

I know I talk about lifting heavy weights. This is heavy for me. Believe me!

After the gym I was sad to see we didn't have any chicken made. No chicken? No problem!

Mmm... 1 whole egg, 3 egg whites, broccoli, tomato, and deli turkey.

I then put on my "nice pajamas" because I knew I would probably be in for the day. Remember how I said I enjoy seeing pictures of other bloggers on their blogs? Well here is a pic of me. I'm in my jammies 90% of the time so that is probably why I don't include pictures of myself all the time! But here ya go!

I use the term "nice pajamas" very loosely.

Oh, you noticed I have pictures now? We realized our video camera also
can take still photographs! Lucky for us! Now we don't have to buy a new camera!

After my omelette (and sweet potatoes, not shown) I'm going to be honest with you. I got depressed. Ever since my knee hurt after my stint on the arc trainer on Friday, I have gotten really down in the dumps about my recovery. I was feeling pretty low Saturday afternoon. Part of it is that I have so much energy and no way to expend it. I mean, my workout was hard. I was tired when I left the gym. But after a shower and food and a few minutes on the couch, I'm ready to go again. Well, my lower body was. But I can't do anything but lay on the couch. Ugh. It feels like every day is the couch.

A phone call from a friend put me in better spirits. We were invited to their place for dinner on Sunday night. I headed to the kitchen to make The Best Pumpkin Cookies You Will Ever Eat to take with us. They turned out better than normal, but I have no clue why, since I used the same recipe I always use!

Saturday night was rough. My husband had a rough night, to say the least. It's times like these when I realize my stupid knee and "feeling fat" and wanting a Keurig are the DUMBEST THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT in the grand scheme of things. I type my Weekend Wrap Up as the weekend goes along, not all at once on Sunday night. And when I went back and read all of the stuff I wrote earlier in the day on Saturday, I wanted to delete it all. Why the hell am I complaining up the small stuff when all I need is a healthy husband, the kitties, a job, and a warm bed?

My husband still didn't feel great Sunday morning, but started to improve throughout the day. However, all plans were cancelled. No dinner with friends, no gym, no anything. We just holed up in the house and took it easy for the day. Don't worry, I took good care of him and waited on him hand and foot. I'm not a nurse, but I'm really good at fetching things and making my man feel comfortable! Let's just say we watched a lot of Seinfelds.

While he napped, I took my mind off things by going to CartoonizeMyPet. Check out my creations...

 Christmas! Jelly!

 And the late, great, Baser Girl!

Oh, I had one time for one more PJ selfie this weekend.

At least I match!

Do anything fun this weekend? As you can tell, ours was a wear your PJs type of weekend...

Do you have Keurig? What are your thoughts?
Have you seen Boogie Nights?
You're totally going to Cartoonize your pet now, right?

When I can Run Again...

Here's the deal. I had my post-op appointment with my Ortho and  he said I do not need to wait until my knee is 100% to start running again. He said once I could do low impact cardio that mimics running for a "good" amount of time without pain, I'd be ready to ease back into running. "Ease back in" meaning, 5 minutes, then 7 minutes, then 9 minutes, etc.

Well, I had worked myself up to 45 minutes on the arc trainer with no pain. I then took two days off of everything lower body. Friday morning, I went to the gym and did 45 minutes on the arc trainer. (This is what I had worked myself up to.) But this time, my knee hurt the whole rest of the day. It felt weak and it ached- the way it ached BEFORE my surgery. This is the first time it has hurt in the same way it hurt before I had my surgery and I am really sad. I guess I overdid it?

My doctor had assured me at my appointment that cardio would not slow my progress. Even if I overdid it and my knee ended up hurting, it would not "erase" the work he did on my knee. So that is good. I know I didn't mess anything up. I am just mad. I thought taking two days off would make my knee even stronger- not make it hurt for the WHOLE REST OF THE DAY.

I am not ready to run yet. A few days ago, I thought I was. Right now, I don't feel like I am. I'm going to wait another week and reassess. But I'm also not getting my hopes up. In fact, I am wondering how little training I can get away with and still run Boston. What if I can't run for another month?? That leaves me...6 weeks to train. FREAKING A!!!!

What does a runner do when she can't run? Dream about running. I've had lots of night dreams about running lately. I've also been daydreaming about running, and thinking about what I'm going to do when I can run again...

I add salt to everything. NO MORE. This is Step 1 in reducing the amount of salt I consume.

I'm NEVER going to stop talking about my runs!! (My runs. Tee-hee.) 

Brace yourself. Every post is going to start out, "So I went for a run today...". 

Well, not every post. I don't run every day. But I will still talk about running a shit ton!

I know, I already gave up fake sugary drinks. Confession: After my surgery, 

when I found myself a wee bit depressed, I'd hit the bottle...

 the "lite lemonade" bottle, that is!

Every wonderful sight, sound and smell on every single run... I will not take it for granted!

I can't wait to be able to call up a bunch of friends and invite them on a long, "good for the soul" trail run. I miss the trail so much. My ankles are going to be so sore, but it will be worth it!!!

**Sorry for all the exclamation points and capital letters. I am all hopped up on Diet Coke right now.**


Did ever have to take a long break from running? What were you looking forward to the most when you were able to run again?